Live Thread: Cavs vs Pistons
2016-02-22
The shorthanded Cavaliers are coming off of one of their more cohesive victories of the season after trashing the Thunder 115-92 on the road last night to extend their winning streak five in a row. With Kyrie bowing out early in the game to flu-like symptoms, LeBron James and Kevin Love picked up the slack and combined for 54 points, 18 rebounds, and 15 assists. The victory hurrah will have to be short lived as they are naturally playing in a back to back tonight at home against their Central Division rival Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons have a streak of their own, as they’ve lost their past five games in a row, coming up short to the Pelicans last night after Anthony Davis’ NBA 2K performance of 59 points, 20 rebounds. While the Pistons trail the Chicago Bulls by 3.5 games for the final playoff spot in the East, a pair of trade deadline deals should improve them immensely going forward. Tobias Harris was the biggest name dealt in the past week, is on a reasonable contact, and his age (23) fits perfectly with the core of Drummond, Jackson, and Caldwell-Pope.
The underreported deal of theirs that I really liked was them picking up Donatas Motiejunas. He abused the heavily favored Wiggins, Bennett, and Blatt Cavs summer league team in 2014 losing me a $1,000 on the final leg of a summer league parlay in the process. I may overrate his potential because he single handily cost me a grand, but he’s since he’s developed an legit outside shot, and could become the rare stretch big with the bulk to battle in the paint if his back troubles don’t keep flaring up. If Stan Van’s pharmacist is out of prison, they could become a big problem in the near future.
As @ShamsCharania reports, Motiejunas deal has fallen apart. Detroit isn't passing him on physical, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 22, 2016
And you can completely disregard the previous paragraph. I’m relieved in a way they don’t have Donatas going forward.
The printer for tonight’s injury report may run out of ink as Mo Williams, Iman Shumpert, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Anthony Tolliver are listed as out. Even if the Rockets deal isn’t voided before the game Marcus Thorton, and Motiejunas are all listed as out according to ESPN.com. Kyrie is listed as probable, and we should see Channing Frye’s Cavalier debut tonight. Tip off is at 7:00 on Fox Sports Ohio. Let’s dish!
I put this one on Lue. That lineup at the start of the 4th quarter made no sense. Frye at center, RJ at PF, JR at the 3. Delly and Irving. There was no one besides Delly that knew how to set a screen and nobody that knew how to roll to the basket afterward
There were tumbleweeds rolling through the key with that lineup.
I think Shump would have made a difference tonight on Jackson. But really Kyrie just wrecks the team’s rhythm offensively and the consistency/discipline defensively.
Kyrie is now the team’s biggest challenge to get sorted out.
One of those nights. Team was tired and not up for the game.
Bummer. I was looking to go undefeated the rest of the way.
Ha! That would have been nice :)
No PT for Varejao in a Warriors win. Bad night of basketball. I’m gonna go stick my head in the toilet.
Kerr said that he wouldn’t play tonight but he might play as early as next game.
TY SHOULD HAVE GONE WITH HIS INTUITION NOT TO PLAY LEBRON —–SOMEONE MENTIONED EARLIER TO ” SHORTEN ” THE SEASON –ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS —-UNDERSTAND THAT T.V. MONEY WILL NEVER ALLOW THIS BUT WE THE FANS WOULD SEE MORE COMPETITIVE REGULAR SEASON GAMES AND THE PLAYERS WOULD ALSO BENIFIT ( HEALTHWISE BUT PROBABLY NOT PAYDAY WISE )——–DOES A HEALTHY SHUMP HELP STOP / SLOW DOWN THEIR GD’S —–TOBIAS WAS A NICE PICK UP —-VAN GUNDY SLOWLY ( THROUGH SHREWD TRADES ) DEVELOPING HIS KIND OF TEAM —-MENTIONED EARLIER–DO NOT WANT TO PLAY THESE GUYS IN THE PLAYOFFS
We will sweep them in the playoffs
I think Detroit get at least two games.
I like how before the next game you always predict that the Cavs will win every game, and then after every Cavs loss you say people who think the Cavs should win every game are silly and irrational.
Kyrie Irving: “It was honestly from the bed bugs from the frickin’ Hilton that we stayed at … We came into the game and I was freaked out”
Cleveland actually has a bed bug problem. I think they’re top ten in US.
Haha, Is this an actual quote? Is that for real? If so that has to be a first in an NBA presser.
Anyone other than DaveR having problems with the site?
Not me…………………….
I was having trouble commenting if I was on google chrome as my browser. But that’s no longer the case, some how it’s fine now after the site was down on Saturday. I am a Mac user.
Easily one of Lue’s worst coached games. The small lineup was a mess cause Kyrie’s defense was a mess. Meanwhile Mozgov was plus 11 but only played 17 minutes. Clearly, he was the only guy with the size to counter drummond. LeBron stunk on both ends of the court. Complete opposite of last game: lazy D, bad decisions, pounding the ball… No one stunk worse than TT and his -22 though. The biggest frustration is the Cavs’ inability to ride a hot hand if it’s not Kyrie or Bron’s. Love should’ve been getting the ball every other possession. Just a… Read more »
You’re not wrong…but they began to face guard love in the 3rd, and we just failed to take advantage of what they gave us. We missed a lot of open looks and couldn’t buy a foul at the rim. Mozgov def should have seen the court more than TT this game. We’re definitely getting better defensively though. We looked awful when Kyrie was having to keep Jackson out of the lane, but when we really locked in in the fourth, we had our chance. Just couldn’t convert and forgot to keep the ball moving. It could have been a 25… Read more »
I think Lue admitted that he should’ve rested LeBron in the post game interview.
That lineup at the start of the 4th was the worst lineup imagineable
Why didn’t Teague lay it in? Stupid decision.
IF YOU ARE LOCAL GO TO CHANNEL 19 ” MIGHTY MAC ‘SPECIAL IS ON
Oh man I am in DC. Will it be on YouTube?
Andy!!! How could you play for these…these…oh yeah they’re champions. I get it now sry
Speights instead of Ezeli or Bogut is a pretty big downgrade.
Sounds like Lue is second guessing not resting LBJ for this game. I wish he had.
Maybe he’ll learn from it.
Hawks just came back from a 23 deficit to take the lead over GSW.
Dang Denis Schroder can shoot now.
I truly hate that bleached area of his hair.
I think it’s essentially a birthmark.
Sometimes it’s amazing to me how much the rest of the world hates Delly. I really can’t go to national media anymore…
Cavs have no answer for Drummond and that’s a problem. They beat OKC because they drafted Waiters and lost to Detroit because they drafted Waiters.
BTW I attribute the CtB being dead to the new website. I have problems in other networks (away from home) and the problem still exists. It’s not a reboot/refresh/delete old settings on your computer thing.
I just got a brand new puppy. That’s why I’ve been a bit absent.
The 7 p.m. starts can be tough. I didn’t see enough of the game to be able to mock Cols about the great effort.
What’s going on, exactly?
Page not found timeout. But my other network (*cough* work *cough*) is dedicated and not reset very often.
I haven’t had any problems with the site.
Detroit is a probable first round playoff opponent. Very tricky for the Cavs, they struggle to out-rebound the Pistons as well as stop Jackson.
Chicago and Charlotte have an easier schedule.
I think Chicago will move up and Charlotte will move out.
We will easily sweep the Pistons.
Sweep, yes. Easy, no.
#facts…………./s
He has stepped back from his sweep of GS, anyway…#facts
I think he’s right about the GS sweep, btw….just not exactly in the way he predicted….
wow…that’s my favorite play of the game. Delly making sure frye gets a bucket before the game ends. That’s friggin classy (and Nate Smith…we still have plenty of players on the team for whom you can cheer).
will be nice when frye settles in and knocks down some threes. if he’d hit two or three of his open ones this is a different ballgame.
Yep, that was Pure Delly.
Cavs follow up one of their best wins of the season with one of their worst losses, fall to DET 96-88. Ky 30p 5a; Love 24p 7r; LeBron 12p —- McMenamin
How is it the Cavs worst loss McM? Maybe Lebron’s worst in some time but some of the Cavs played well.
Would definitely say the home loss to GSW and the one to Portland were way worse..
Agreed………………..
I hate porn stache Van Gundy. His teams always kill the Cavs.
It’s because they’re all juicing.
Meanwhile GSW destroying the Hawks 60-41.
Great effort. But just wasn’t enough tonight. Tired I think. But tried super hard.
Defensive effort involving rotations in the lane and to perimeter shooters was horrific in first 3 qtrs. Probably related to tiredness, but regardless, it just wasn’t there during the first half or third qtr.
the next time this team scores 85 points…remind me there is more to life than the cavs. Ha so much firepower and so little production.
tobias harris was a FANTASTIC pickup for Detroit. Holy cow. He fits perfectly. way better than as the #2 option on the magic.
and that’s the game. was a fun 4th quarter. would have been nice to see jr before less than 3 mins left.
Still
Battling. Awesome play by Irving.
Tried to switch over to the GS-ATL game but NBATV trolled me by playing the Cavs.
Haha. This is a great comment. Made me chuckle
Cavs going to be 5-5 in their own division. Awful.
Good thing they are up by double digit wins.
They played really hard but just did t have it tonight. I guess 6 in a row is where the winning streak ends. But it’s never good enough for CtB. Just never going to be happy unless we win 100% of our games. Which is impossible.
Whose happy when they lose to inferior competition?
And loosing to an inferior team at home makes it worse.
Warriors are winning 90% of their games. Just saying.
You know Cols, faith is belief in the absence of proof, not necessarily in denial of it.
For me it is not wins or losses. It is how they play during the games. I do not mind losses if I see decent effort for at least an entire half and smart play throughout most of the game. Also it is unfair to expect people to be happy go lucky after losses, especially in games that were very winnable. I genuinely do not think anyone enjoys watching crappy basketball.
Still some solid takeaways from the game… getting Love a ton of good looks in the first quarter, Kyrie with an efficient shooting night. Just too many turnovers and some cold shooting in the second half.
Oh well, sucks to lose, but it’s a game in February versus the Pistons. No way they would win any in a series if they saw us in April or May
Just wish they would have kept going to Love more in the second and third.
You must be miserable, then, since you predicted 82-0 before the season.
LeBron had a stinker tonight.
Perhaps his worst of the year He was so careless with the ball.
I find it odd that Love got 7 shots in the first qtr and only 7 since.
Well. I guess it’s going to be gloomy around here tomorrow.
Gloomy with a chance of Cols!
where is the ball movement to find delly? and why is JR Smith on the effing bench??
Wow Leb needs to not play any more B2Bs. Dude looks ancient tonight.
Just one of those nights for Lebron…
And Kyrie hero ball for the loss!
You just can never count them out.
lebron….good lord. let someone else launch a three please!
MFQ! MFQ! MFQ! MFQ!
So much hustle on this team even when they are clearly tired. Love this team.
I like that they keep battling. This team has tons of heart.
Especially Channing Frye!!!!!
winner winner chicken dinner
That was a great pick up by Griffin.
Yeah you didn’t get the joke apparently.
Real heart is GS beating Atlanta 58-39 at half in Atl. Three games in four nights
Would’ve mailed it in earlier in the season
Detroit certainly giving us opportunities.
Cavs coming back!!!
If there are no back to backs in the post season, why have them in the regular season? Shorten the schedule and get rid of them!
I’m all for that. But that means cutting games, and thus less money, so it’s very, very unlikely to happen.
Should be two days off between every game.
Delly putting up a clunker tonight.
rough game to be at. man.
all these turnovers
My fear now is that we’ll get close enough this quarter that Lue keeps playing guys heavy minutes risking injury.
Your fear has become a reality
IS THIS ANOTHER ” PORTLAND PLAYERS PISSED OFF PROTEST GAME ” LOOK OUT TY ” THE DOOR MAY BE SWINGING OPEN “—–JUST BEING SARCASTIC BUT WOW THIS REALLY SUCKS !!—AND NO TRADE DEADLINE TO GIVE US HOPE ( MORE SARCASM )
Any time a SVG team plays the Cavs the players should be tested for PEDs.